A sizeable problem

Can anyone help?

I have a Jack Russell who, like any other dog, loves running around off lead. She plays very well with smaller dogs and we quite regularly meet a Cairn and Yorkie on our walks. The problem is, I do worry about her when larger dogs bowl her over in play. I don’t for a minute suggest these larger dogs should be kept on a lead, why shouldn’t they be allowed to enjoy their walks too? But I was wondering if anyone has any advice or experience of how to keep a small dog from being bowled over?

I haven’t had any experience of any aggressive dogs at all, they all want to play, but I often walk along the towpath of the local canal and would be interested to hear how other owners of smaller dogs cope when on a small path where it is difficult to avoid other dogs. My Jack Russell is very sociable and I do not want to deny her the chance to play, but I worry that due to the size difference between her and larger dogs she could become injured. I used to have a Border Collie and I used to make her go down when a larger dog approached that she may have been nervous of, or when a smaller dog approached that she might have made nervous, but I have tried and can’t do that with my Jack Russell!

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts. Like I said, I have not found these larger dogs to be at all aggressive and know they simply wish to play, I just worry because she is often very much the smallest dog in the group playing.

Thank you.

Jenny Jessop, Hillingdon, Middlesex